Sunday, 10 April 2011

Decoration, or décor, for the event is an important consideration. One should view a venue as a blank canvas in which they can paint a masterpiece, or in other words the decoration at an event is there to facilitate an atmosphere and to influence the audience. This decoration whether internal, external, at the entrance, on the stage, or even on the bar will set the stage for the event and will affect how the audience feel at the event. This is why it is important to consider exactly what theme the event is and how the decoration will work with this theme (silvers, 2004).

The four main areas to consider for decoration by Julia,R Silvers (2004) are:

1. Walls – these can support murals, pictures, paintings to be showcased, or can be hidden with cloth tabs/backdrops. Also they can be painted to add an aesthetic for the event.2. Ceilings – this area could be left blank. Other options available are filling it with balloons, painting a logo on it, attaching hangings, pinning up flags of pictures, using lighting projections, and covering with fabric.3. Floors – the can be decorated with carpets of different fabrics, painted, dance floors, or be covered with coverings with logos or decorative effects.4. Architectural – these are features such as windows, doors, frames, columns and other built-in features of the venue.

How does our event production consider these areas of decoration?

The walls themselves are going to be covered with black tabs as they are a plain white paint and would detract from the main areas. Also if lighting is present white will reflect light and cause difficulties with lighting effects. The ceiling is to be left bare as due to time and money constraints we will not be able to afford enough cloth to cover it. However some lighting effect may be able to give some colour to the ceiling. In terms of the floor area not much can be done again to time and money constraints but also due to health and safety implications; adding carpet will increase risks of tripping for audience members.

The architectural features present at the fruit venue are two structural columns, a coat room constructed of wood, and a bar. The bar area will not be decorated as this may cause complications in the bars service. The two structural columns will be decorated will magazine clippings from movie magazines which will fit in with the movie magazine theme. The coat room will be covered by some display boards which will be showing movie heads shots of the group. These head shots will be artistically done and will be similar in style with those done in movie magazines.

Bibliography:

Silvers, J (2004) Professional Event Coordination. New Jersey, John Wiley and Sons Inc.

Thursday, 7 April 2011

This past week the group has focused on the sponsorship side of the event production. With the venue being paid in full by the veolia sponsor, the group is looking to raise funds to pay for other over heads of the event such as, printing cots, lamination costs, Decorations for the venue, and DVDs for the films to be burned to. Plus the more sponsors the event gathers the greater the profile of the event, which could help to persuade media professionals to attend.

Sponsorship is important because it offers an event free funding, free materials, or possibly both. This can reduce both the expenditure and resource gathering which can free the production group to focus on other areas of the event. Also these donations from the sponsors can help to progress the event or raise the event status. The sponsor could possibly even offer a venue for free or a reduced price, though this may be down to bartering (Conway, 2006).

However on the flip side this does enter the production group into a form of contract that is legally binding. The production group must agree to the sponsor’s terms whether they are to display the sponsor’s logo, include mention of the sponsor, feature sponsor products, or even allocate spaces for a representative. Whatever terms are agreed the production group is responsible for the implementation of them and failure to do so will bring the production group into legal action. Also these terms can affect the overall feel of the event and whether the event could be seen as a “sell out” which may affect whether people wish to attend or will attend the event again.

It is apparent that if one is to seek sponsorship one should consider carefully exactly what they need, how many sponsors to approach, and which sponsors to target (again if the event needs any at all). If the selected sponsors reply and are willing to then an amount of bartering will be needed to gauge the amount of “give and take” the sponsor has over the event.

“An event organizer, having succeeded in getting the desired sponsorship, must then be able to service the sponsor, that is to fulfil the sponsor’s expectations of the event and its outcomes for the sponsor’s business or brand” (Shone and Parry, 2004, pp116)

Tuesday, 22 March 2011

Having finally chosen fruit as our venue the group were able to finally discuss the theme for the event.

It was decided the original Hollywood theme for the event would be unsuitable for the venue due to its limitations. Fruit is an alternative arts venue that gives of a theme grunge, underground arts scene and not that of a Hollywood film premier. The floor is plain concrete and not carpet, chairs and table available are not high status, the cloak room being obviously made out of wood that sticks out like a sore thumb.

Instead a new theme has been suggested this being a film magazine theme. This theme entails the two steel poles located in the centre of the space is covered in magazine cuttings from film and television magazines. Also another idea suggested was that each member of the group has a head shot taken for them similar to those used by actors, with the addiction of a personal quote to display at the event. This would help establish exactly whose night this is and who the members of the group are. This would also give guests a conversation starter and would give another area for audience members to focus on. This would further possible networking opportunities in a positive manner.

Also this it was confirmed that event had its first sponsor who would be willing to donate money to the event night in exchange for sponsorship. The sum of money would also be able to pay the venue hire costs outright. This reduces the personal cost to the group and giving the group more financial flexibility. However to receive this donation the group needed to setup a bank account so the check could be made payable to an account and that it could be referenced. I and another member of the group volunteered to setup the account for the group.

Considering this week’s progress it has been positive. With the venue now confirmed the group is able to decide the theme based on the venue. This has now meant that there is a more clear defined approach to the event development. Also with the money coming from the sponsor this may possibly up the group’s game as an outside entity is making an investment to the event meaning the group now have responsibility to uphold this agreement with the sponsor. What is important now is for the progress to continue into next week so that the momentum is not lost.

Friday, 11 March 2011

This week for the showcase module a meeting was held in which the venue discussion cropped up. During this discussion on the venue to possible locations were put forward. The first location was the Lincoln University campus located across the road from Hull College, and the second venue being Fruit.

Lincoln Uni:The location was selected as a possible venue due to it having a cinema complex on campus which was available to students. Though I was not present at the investigation of the location, the group was impressed with the facilities available. Also with it being located closer to Hull College would be beneficial in that it would allow for minimal transport for any extra equipment.

Fruit:The fruit space although located a bit further away from the college is a dedicated venue space designed for putting on events (whereas Lincoln is just a cinema complex). Also it sports a bar serving alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages which may be beneficial in persuading people to attend. The facilities at fruit are also more designed to be flexible i.e. lighting rig, movable stage, and a professional PA system.

After considering both the pros and cons of both venues the group looked at the costs of both venues and what was made available at these costs.

Fruit would cost £250 to hire the space and all the equipment available, also it would pay for bar staff and for a bouncer to man the door. Also they would allow us to make changes to the space for our event. Lincoln university would cost £335 just for the cost of the cinema complex not including any other areas, or staff for the projector. It would cost an extra £200 to use the other facilities (an exhibition room) and to staff the projector. This combined with the lack of a bar, catering, and bouncer’s means that Lincoln University is too expensive for our budget.

This left only the Fruit venue which certain people in the group had disagreements with. However when this was put to the vote the majority voted on Fruit being the venue for the showcase.

Upon reflecting on this process of events it shows that although it has taken longer than expected to choose a venue for the event it has shown that we have considered all the options available to us considering distance, cost, capacity, catering/bar, space, and availability. Instead of simply jumping on the first ship we researched exactly what we wanted which has finally paid off in that the event now has a venue that will suit the style and feel of the event.

Monday, 28 February 2011

During week four a visit to the Fruit venue was organized for the group. This was done because the venue subject was beginning to lose momentum and this visit was meant to help give members of the group a better understanding of the proposed venue space. This investigation of the venue helped as it showed exactly how big the space was and see the state of the facilities. Most importantly though the visit allowed the group to get a feel of the venue and whether these “feel” would suit the “feel” of our event.

“To elicit inspiration, the professional event coordinator needs to “feel the place” by experiencing the venue” (Silvers, 2004, p65-66).

Photographs were taken of the venue (see below):Whilst down there we were able to confirm capacity which was 130 seated. Also it was noted that the projector available was only 720p resolution not full HD. This would affect exactly what format the films would be filmed in however this was not an issue. What was a pressing issue at the time was that certain members of the group were unhappy with the venue at that time. This indecision made the group indecisive and was unable to collectively agree on fruit as a venue.

What is becoming apparent is that the lack of a venue for the event is holding up the other aspects of the production such as theme, planning of the event, contacting possible guests, sponsors, and fundraising. The Hollywood theme is what the group wants for the event however there are difficulties of visualising it with out a venue. Planning the event evening can only be done in rough form because no defined dates can be given. Contacting guests and sponsors would require that we have a definite date to give them so they may plan accordingly. Being unable to contact sponsors means that the group cannot plan any fundraising accordingly and is struggling to work out rough costing.

Bibliography:

Silvers, J (2004) Professional Event Coordination. New Jersey, John Wiley and Sons Inc.

Wednesday, 16 February 2011

This week for showcase management has again been about the venue selection for the event.

The KC stadium was approached again to enquire about a smaller venue at a reduced price. They offered their sports bar capable of seating 400 people at a cost of £120. However the group would have to provide the audio visual equipment for the showcase itself. Considering this the group have decided to remove the KC stadium from the venue shortlist. This means that VUE cinema and Fruit are the only venues that remain on the shortlist. Emmeline decided to contact Fruit to organize a viewing of the space for the group to gather a better feel.

Although the venues are making slow progress this has also allowed for the group to consider other options within the event itself.

During the meeting on the 7th of February it was decided that Melanie, Chris, and me were assigned to taken on the role of putting together a behinds the scenes show reel for each film including interviews of cast and crew. This will require organisation to film and edit in time for the event but will be possible with good organisation.

From this past week it has shown that although the venue is becoming more focused and taking more time, the group is still making progress in other areas by assigning tasks to other people. Although this is showing adequate use of group members it should be stressed that without a definitive venue the progress will be slow.

Tuesday, 8 February 2011

This week the group is still deciding on the venue for the showcase. After giving the information to the group at the meeting on Monday the 31st of February it was decided that the KC stadium, thought it had good faculties, was too expensive at £8.50 per head. However after explaining that this was the most expensive option at the KC it was concluded that an enquiry about lowering the price needed to be made. Also the freedom centre venue was agreed to be the most suitable venue out of the selection due to its price of £300. Also the facilities available would suit the event.

The Hull truck and reel cinema venues were dropped from the list due to being to expensive and unavailable. The Vue and Fruit venues had to be followed up for the next meeting.

This process of keeping a possible venue and dropping them, shows that the group is considering what is within the realistic limitations of the event.

“With an open-ended budget, anyone can plan a great event. But your financial resources are limited. An event planner can always plan a great event with any reasonable budget” (Hard, About.com).

It also shows that the group is looking at the facilities available at each venue and working out whether the price exceeds the possible benefits. This shows a professional attitude that is flexible and will consider all the available information whilst planning the event. Planning should be flexible because it must allow for the event to evolve as new information is received (Conway, 2004).

Saturday, 5 February 2011

Being the first week of the module there wasn’t a great deal to complete. However the group was able to organize itself for a production meeting to discuss ideas for the showcase. The way the meeting was structured was one member of the group to chair the meeting and another member to take minutes. These were important as the chairman managed what topics to be discussed and monitored the conversation to keep members on track with the subject. The minute’s taker was very important by recording any decisions made during the meeting and any tasks given to particular people. These minutes will document the progress of the production. During this meeting the task assigned to myself was to contact a list of venues to find out costs, capacity, facilities, and equipment.

During the meeting there were concerns brought up about the facilities available may affect the amount of attendants. For example car parking may affect how many visitors can get to the event.

“Vehicles will belong to three groups: Staff, exhibitors and the public. You will have to make arrangements for sufficient space for them to park safely and within reach of the central event site” (Conway, 2004, p97).

If there is not enough room for visitors then how are the organisers going to be able to park close enough? This is also true on other facilities such as: toilets, capacity, catering, bars, as these will affect how many and what age visitors can come. Each facility that is present or absent can affect the event. This required me to ask in detail what facilities were available at each venue, whether they would be able to open them for the event, and whether this would add any extra cost.